Antisocial Behaviour

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made on the Government's target of reducing antisocial behaviour.

Vernon Coaker: In 2002-03, 21 per cent. of people responding to the British Crime Survey perceived high levels of antisocial behaviour (ASB) compared with 17 per cent. in the year up to September 2007. The Local Government User Satisfaction Survey which asked similar questions to the British Crime Survey in 2003-04 and again in 2006-07 showed a reduction in perception in 94 per cent. of areas. This reduction in perception has contributed to the Home Office meeting its PSA target on confidence and reassurance for 2005-08.
	The Home Office's twin track approach of enforcement and support has been shown to be effective by the National Audit Office's 2006 on antisocial Behaviour. The report concluded that the majority of people who received an ASB intervention did not re-engage in ASB.

Antisocial Behaviour: Young People

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to tackle antisocial behaviour amongst young people.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office has always maintained that antisocial behaviour is not specifically a 'youth' issuethe vast majority of young people behave well and make a positive contribution to society.
	There is a range of tools and powers that have been in place for some time which can be employed when young people engage in crime and antisocial behaviour. Warning letters, acceptable behaviour contracts and individual support orders alongside antisocial behaviour orders specifically tackle behaviour. While parenting orders and contracts prevent problems in their child's behaviour and steer them away from becoming involved in antisocial and offending behaviour.
	The Government are putting even greater emphasis on ensuring that when young people engage in antisocial behaviour they receive the right balance of support, challenge and positive activities to help them change their behaviour and fulfil their potential, contribute to communities and avoid getting into further trouble. As part of this the work, the Youth Task Force will support the delivery of these services. This will be set out in the 'Youth Task Force Action Plan' to be published in March.
	We are also developing a renewed cross-Government approach to youth crime with the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Ministry of Justice. This work will result in a 'Youth Crime Action Plan' to deliver results across youth crime prevention, youth justice as well as cross cutting themes on youth victimisation and serious youth violence.

Boyhood to Manhood Foundation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to provide support for the Boyhood to Manhood Foundation in order to prevent its closure.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office is in regular contact with the From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation. Together with other parts of Government, we are working closely with the Foundation to resolve their present difficulties and strengthen their business and management capacity. We have agreed to provide funding to enable the organisation's day centre to remain open in the immediate future and will continue discussions on what support might be available in the longer term.

Driving: Mobile Phones

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to reduce the numbers of drivers using mobile telephones when driving in the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 19 February 2008
	From 1 December 2003 using a hand-held mobile phone while driving became a specific, non-endorsable, fixed penalty offence. The fixed penalty was 30. If the case went to court, the maximum fine was 1,000. The Road Safety Act 2006, with effect from 27 February 2007, made the offence endorsable, with three penalty points and a 60 fixed penalty.
	The latest figures, for 2005, show that the police took enforcement action against 129,700 drivers for the specific offence of driving while using a hand-held mobile phone. This is a 72 per cent. increase on the 2004 figure.
	The Department for Transport (DfT) has publicised the offence since its introduction, to emphasise that it is dangerous and that offenders will be punished. DfT plan to spend some 1.5 million in 2007-08 on television, radio and cinema advertising. The current campaign started on 1 February. In addition DfT provides printed materials to local authority road safety officers who mount their own campaigns .

Genetics: Databases

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA samples are on the national DNA database.

Meg Hillier: 'DNA samples' refer to biological material, either taken from individuals, or from traces left at crime scenes. These samples are analysed to produce code numbers, known as profiles, which are stored on the National DNA Database (NDNAD). On 21 January 2008, the NDNAD held 319,677 profiles from crime scenes, and profiles relating to 4,290,925 individuals, loaded by all United Kingdom police forces.

Genetics: Databases

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how long the Government retains the DNA records of individuals who are not found guilty of committing an offence.

Meg Hillier: Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, the police have the power to take and retain DMA from anyone arrested for a recordable offence and detained in a police station.
	PACE does not set a limit on retention. Instead, the police follow retention guidelines issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which state that records will normally be retained for 100 years from the person's date of birth, regardless of whether they are still alive.
	ACPO also issued guidance to chief officers on the consideration of applications for removal at the end of January 2006. The ACPO guidelines envisage that DNA which has been taken lawfully will be removed only in exceptional cases, though discretion remains with the chief officer. The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), made a written ministerial statement announcing the issue of these ACPO guidelines, on 16 February 2006,  Official Report, column 117WS.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will provide financial and technical assistance to countries with available helicopters and related materials and personnel to assist with full deployment of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur.

Meg Munn: We will consider assisting countries that may provide helicopters and other capabilities to the UN-African Union hybrid force in Darfur. We would discuss this on a case by case basis directly with the country concerned and in co-ordination with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and other potential donors.

Departmental Parliamentary Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff work in her Office's parliamentary branch; and what proportion of their time is spent on dealing with  (a) parliamentary questions and  (b) correspondence from hon. Members and Peers.

Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office does not have a parliamentary branch. It is currently supported in this function by the Department of Work and Pensions. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mrs. McGuire) on 6 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1229W, which provides full details about the parliamentary branch in DWP. The Parliamentary Branch does not deal with correspondence from Members or Peers.

Domestic Violence

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality 
	(1)  what steps the Government have taken to increase funding for organisations supporting those affected by domestic violence;
	(2)  what steps the Government have taken to provide support to those affected by domestic violence.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 18 February 2008
	The Inter-departmental Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence, on which I sit, monitors action on the National Domestic Violence Plan, which includes the delivery of support to victims and their families.
	A lot has been done to increase the support available for families affected by domestic violence:
	Last year, the Home Office allocated just under 6 million to tackle domestic violence including 2 million to support and improve local delivery on domestic violence for victims and their children. It also funded for improved public protection arrangements for domestic violence victims and a matrix of help lines to provide advice and support to victims and their families.
	The Ministry of Justice allocated 3 million for Independent Domestic Violence Advisers whose aim is the safety and support of victims and their children. This is in addition to annual court business costs.
	The Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme aims to improve the welfare of all children by putting in place arrangements for earlier and more effective assessment and intervention for vulnerable children, such as those affected by domestic violence.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government has developed a range of accommodation options for victims including Sanctuary Scheme guidance, and 61 million of Supporting People funds were used by local authorities in 2006-07 to provide housing related support for victims of domestic violence and their families. Guidance for Jobcentre Plus staff provides advice about domestic violence and its potential impact on victims, explains the sorts of support they may need and provides advice on taking account of their particular circumstances when dealing with a benefit application. The guidance also has contact details of a range of organisations which provide advice and support to domestic violence victims.
	Financial support in respect of children, such as child benefit and child tax credits, is paid to the person who is responsible for those children and is often already paid directly to mothers. Where there is any family breakdown, the benefits will, where necessary, normally be transferred to the person with whom the children are living.
	Domestic violence tears apart families and always affects children. The Government recognise the strong links between child protection concerns and domestic violence. Victims leaving a violent relationship will often need a range of financial and practical support for themselves and their children. The Inter-departmental Ministerial Group will continue to monitor this aspect of delivery.

Females

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what meetings  (a) she and  (b) the Deputy Minister for Women has had with ministerial colleagues on women's issues in each of the last six months.

Barbara Follett: Both, I and the deputy Minister for Women and Equality have had meetings with ministerial colleagues on a range of women's issues. Discussions are ongoing.

Humanitarian Aid

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what  (a) domestic and  (b) international incidents she has dealt with as lead Minister for domestic humanitarian assistance.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 20 February 2008
	The Humanitarian Assistance Unit was formally established in 2005 after the London bombings. Since then it has been involved in supporting those affected by the following incidents:
	 2005
	 Domestic
	London bombings
	Failed London bombings
	Stockwell tube shooting
	 International
	Terrorist attacks in:
	Kusadasi, Turkey;
	Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt;
	Bali
	 2006
	 International
	The Bahrain Dhow disaster;
	Shooting incident in Jordan;
	Terrorist attacks in:
	Dahab, Egypt;
	Marmaris, Turkey;
	Hat Yai, Thailand;
	Bangkok, Thailand
	Prior to the establishment of the unit in 2005, I as then Secretary of State and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport were involved with providing humanitarian assistance following the following incidents:
	
		
			   Incident 
			 2001 9/11, USA 
			 2002 Bali bombings 
			 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Fireworks Act 2003

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department has taken to monitor the effectiveness of the Fireworks Act 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Fireworks Act 2003 and other elated legislation is kept under review. In particular the effectiveness of the legislation will be examined during the implementation of the European Directive on the placing on the market of pyrotechnic articles, which must be implemented by 10 January 2010.

Industrial Disputes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government has taken to provide greater accessibility of employment dispute resolution procedures since 1997.

Patrick McFadden: In December 2006, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced an independent review of Government support for resolving disputes in the workplace which considered the options for simplifying and improving all aspects of employment dispute resolution. The review concluded in March 2007 and recommended complete repeal of the statutory dispute resolution procedures. The Government sought views on the way forward through its March 2007 consultation 'Resolving disputes in the workplace'.
	The Government laid the Employment Bill before Parliament in December 2007 to give effect to the main legislative changes needed to reform employment dispute resolution and pave the way for a simpler and more efficient system for employers and employees. The key reforms within the Bill are:
	Repeal of the statutory dispute resolution procedures and associated legislation relating to the role of procedure in unfair dismissal.
	Introduction of a new principles based statutory ACAS Code of Practice which will be accompanied by fuller non statutory guidance to provide practical help for employers and employees.
	Employment tribunals will take account of the statutory Code in making determinations and have discretionary powers to adjust awards by up to 25 per cent. If either party acts unreasonably.
	Removal of time restrictions on ACAS' duty to conciliate after an employment tribunal claim has been made.
	Additionally, the Government announced on 6 February 2007 that they were making up to 37 million available to help prevent workplace disputes unnecessarily going to employment tribunals. This extra funding over three years, will allow ACAS to boost its helpline and advice services so that they may help at any stage of a dispute ensuring it is never too late for employers and employees to reach an informal resolution. The money will support increased availability of ACAS conciliation before an employment tribunal claim has been made, enabling the quicker, informal resolution of more disputes.
	Other non legislative measures to improve and simplify employment dispute resolution will be outlined in the Government's response to the consultation which will be published in due course.

Children: Day Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps children and learners teams working in government offices for the regions have taken to implement child care strategies in their areas; and what assessment he has made of the impact of regional teams on child care providers.

Beverley Hughes: Children and learners teams in the Government offices for the regions work with local authorities to provide challenge and support as local authorities implement the Government's 10 year child care strategy and Children's Plan in their areas. Practical measures taken have included child care discussions as part of the negotiation of local area agreements, and the establishment of child care regional networks, with Government offices working with local authorities on their child care sufficiency assessments and helping them prepare for their new duty to secure sufficient child care for working parents from 1 April 2008.
	This Government office work is enabling local authorities to work more effectively with child care providers, shaping and supporting local child care markets which will ensure that sufficient child care is available.

Children's Centres

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the occupancy rate in nursery facilities provided in Sure Start children centres.

Beverley Hughes: Sure Start children's centres serving the most disadvantaged communities in England must provide integrated early learning and full day care as part of their core services. Centres serving less disadvantaged communities may provide integrated early learning and day care places where local demand is not being met by existing, good quality providers. Information on the occupancy rate in nursery facilities in Sure Start children's centres is not collected centrally by my Department.
	The 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey, conducted when the first Sure Start children's centres were at an early stage in setting up their integrated early learning and child care services, estimated that: there were 37,700 registered full day care places provided in centres in England, an average of 55 places per centre; and 6,600 vacancies, an average of 12 vacancies per centre.

Children's Centres: Labour Turnover

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of Sure Start children's centres in each local authority area have  (a) child care staff vacancies,  (b) manager and/or administrator vacancies,  (c) outreach staff vacancies and  (d) speech and language therapist vacancies; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of levels of recruitment and retention in Sure Start children's centres; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the workforce in Sure Start children's centres workforce is not collected centrally. The 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey estimated that 31 per cent. of full day care providers based in children's centres in England were actively recruiting staff. This snapshot is based on a sample survey of providers and an estimate of the number of full day care providers based in children's centres who had staff vacancies is not available. Data are not available at a local authority level.
	Sure Start children's centres offer a range of integrated services for young children and families, delivered by statutory, private and voluntary and independent sector agencies working together. Recruitment and retention of children's centre staff is a matter for local management by children's centres, local authorities and their partner agencies. By 2010 Sure Start children's centres will be serving all communities across the country providing universal, mainstream, permanent services for children under five and their families. Last summer we advised local authorities of their children's centres funding allocations for the next three financial years (2008 to 2011) to encourage longer-term planning and to increase stability in recruitment and retention of staff.

Creative Partnerships Initiative

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many constituencies schools  (a) were working with creative partnerships in 2007 and  (b) are planning to work with creative partnerships in 2008.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 20 February 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	Seven schools in the Bassetlaw constituency worked with Creative Partnerships in 2007.
	Creative Partnerships has continued to work with six of these schools this year and expects to work with a number of new schools in Bassetlaw in the next financial year. Final decisions on this will be made shortly in consultation with Nottinghamshire county council.

Disabled: Transport

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much money was allocated to local authorities to be spent on educational transport for wheelchair-bound people  (a) under 18,  (b) under 25 and  (c) aged 25 and over in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The Department is unable to answer the question in the way it has been asked. However, the following table shows the budgeted expenditure of transport for pupils with special educational needs:
	
		
			   2005-06( 1)  2006-07  2007-08( 2) 
			   
			  Local authority name  Budgeted SEN transport expenditure( 1, 3)  Budgeted SEN transport expenditure( 1, 3)  Budgeted SEN transport expenditure( 1,3) 
			 England 499,592,723 528,476,833 554,914,361 
			 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,242,012 1,926,000 2,176,649 
			 Barnet 4,793,528 5,211,047 5,770,867 
			 Barnsley 1,314,910 1,277,692 1,363,650 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 2,035,212 2,280,577 2,494,785 
			 Bedfordshire 4,278,447 4,984,020 5,400,646 
			 Bexley 3,211,000 2,534,000 2,625,000 
			 Birmingham 13,410,558 13,188,243 12,375,713 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 2,025,783 1,502,446 1,477,805 
			 Blackpool 980,188 1,335,606 1,301,683 
			 Bolton 2,546,218 2,455,433 2,542,690 
			 Bournemouth 1,024,622 951,260 952,774 
			 Bracknell Forest 1,413,602 1,370,106 1,379,509 
			 Bradford 4,835,652 7,619,716 7,963,958 
			 Brent 228,000 3,435,000 3,764,000 
			 Brighton and Hove 2,604,995 2,745,599 3,140,800 
			 Bristol City of 3,690,377 5,344,331 5,420,114 
			 Bromley 3,247,796 3,406,340 3,536,069 
			 Buckinghamshire 7,265,839 6,687,368 9,211,629 
			 Bury 1,069,800 1,597,500 1,904,900 
			 Calderdale 1,666,947 1,686,998 1,691,900 
			 Cambridgeshire 5,377,674 5,591,033 5,827,965 
			 Camden 1,913,183 2,343,149 2,690,915 
			 Cheshire 7,532,516 7,723,286 8,188,581 
			 City of London 47,800 41,800 5,400 
			 Cornwall 1,930,045 1,981,265 2,158,915 
			 Coventry 2,641,075 2,577,016 2,972,184 
			 Croydon 4,146,027 5,274,945 5,314,215 
			 Cumbria 3,451,647 3,478,907 4,173,164 
			 Darlington 604,267 551,335 616,973 
			 Derby 2,245,241 2,243,925 2,301,235 
			 Derbyshire 5,385,094 6,275,718 6,909,393 
			 Devon 1,104,000 2,198,130 2,229,641 
			 Doncaster 2,789,174 3,418,459 3,669,209 
			 Dorset 3,013,221 4,953,509 5,319,916 
			 Dudley 2,021,960 1,823,425 2,363,191 
			 Durham 5,160,384 4,781,398 4,332,815 
			 Ealing 5,005,000 4,797,200 4,999,756 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 3,735,851 3,799,159 3,958,640 
			 East Sussex 8,399,051 8,416,982 6,790,684 
			 Enfield 4,451,461 4,165,211 4,375,647 
			 Essex 13,450,194 13,753,166 14,086,532 
			 Gateshead 1,041,523 1,404,394 1,392,821 
			 Gloucestershire 4,030,437 3,843,035 4,420,249 
			 Greenwich 2,977,581 2,998,840 2,867,970 
			 Hackney 3,283,892 3,204,961 3,132,762 
			 Halton 1,163,740 1,173,810 1,198,946 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,046,498 2,148,823 2,226,900 
			 Hampshire 13,580,000 13,900,000 14,487,932 
			 Haringey 3,681,407 3,797,556 3,789,425 
			 Harrow 2,796,349 2,659,873 3,667,547 
			 Hartlepool 1,029,206 1,200,232 1,099,354 
			 Havering 1,326,640 1,481,800 1,830,897 
			 Herefordshire 1,776,000 1,430,125 1,346,521 
			 Hertfordshire 12,572,428 12,507,112 12,595,617 
			 Hillingdon 3,496,740 3,812,012 3,909,041 
			 Hounslow 2,489,641 2,515,382 2,793,417 
			 Isle of Wight 326,664 325,112 339,178 
			 Isles Of Scilly 0 0 0 
			 Islington 2,106,192 1,991,886 1,965,644 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,220,170 1,266,052 1,702,997 
			 Kent 15,624,793 17,595,889 16,652,610 
			 Kingston upon Hull City of 2,660,521 2,420,062 2,516,937 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2,012,537 2,089,210 2,194,334 
			 Kirklees 3,277,800 3,336,300 3,400,200 
			 Knowsley 1,528,505 1,590,046 1,490,035 
			 Lambeth 3,775,000 3,463,970 3,284,989 
			 Lancashire 13,156,306 8,796,768 14,472,153 
			 Leeds 5,934,170 6,855,830 7,128,430 
			 Leicester 3,082,099 3,707,306 3,883,960 
			 Leicestershire 6,006,348 6,002,982 5,748,370 
			 Lewisham 3,562,281 4,102,844 3,672,403 
			 Lincolnshire 9,066,597 9,870,736 10,744,197 
			 Liverpool 4,092,271 4,173,883 4,262,111 
			 Luton 2,188,276 2,130,587 2,031,425 
			 Manchester 6,574,967 4,955,332 6,786,111 
			 Medway 2,800,225 2,948,105 3,279,758 
			 Merton 1,558,490 2,105,440 2,138,650 
			 Middlesbrough 1,515,487 1,731,348 1,953,869 
			 Milton Keynes 1,662,081 1,769,505 1,633,537 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 1,743,121 1,754,430 2,074,210 
			 Newham 3,062,494 3,144,200 3,455,500 
			 Norfolk 8,130,431 9,190,100 9,769,424 
			 North East Lincolnshire 938,902 1,767,000 1,954,798 
			 North Lincolnshire 1,530,751 1,519,080 1,594,240 
			 North Somerset 1,390,049 1,392,598 1,502,835 
			 North Tyneside 1 ,286,433 1,363,436 1,352,237 
			 North Yorkshire 3,910,978 4,260,055 5,583,483 
			 Northamptonshire 5,178,660 5,835,200 6,407,810 
			 Northumberland 2,673,000 2,626,590 2,888,420 
			 Nottingham 1,773,700 1,706,154 1,746,104 
			 Nottinghamshire 4,800,722 5,122,900 5,343,312 
			 Oldham 1,755,450 1,824,780 2,113,529 
			 Oxfordshire 5,506,949 6,367,442 6,485,086 
			 Peterborough 1,729,610 1,905,379 1,834,708 
			 Plymouth 2,985,433 2,506,692 1,998,387 
			 Poole 885,001 976,652 998,705 
			 Portsmouth 1,439,992 1,492,991 1,582,410 
			 Reading 1,266,519 1,252,210 1,196,451 
			 Redbridge 3,111,720 2,772,180 2,805,008 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 888,081 1,145,134 1,085,126 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,612,000 1,853,800 2,209,300 
			 Rochdale 1,884,535 1,942,003 1,992,660 
			 Rotherham 1,911,662 2,103,623 2,494,588 
			 Rutland 275,810 298,925 272,160 
			 Salford 2,504,545 2,077,061 2,592,910 
			 Sandwell 2,185,800 2,475,300 2,551,900 
			 Sefton 3,062,510 2,501,691 2,802,544 
			 Sheffield 4,381,848 4,514,264 4,605,244 
			 Shropshire 3,291,982 3,223,487 3,317,446 
			 Slough 1,907,295 1,927,471 1,883,190 
			 Solihull 2,007,600 2,050,969 2,159,230 
			 Somerset 3,273,745 3,199,045 3,334,062 
			 South Gloucestershire 2,260,000 2,507,000 2,684,000 
			 South Tyneside 811,170 924,644 1,093,157 
			 Southampton 1,548,500 1,637,171 1,684,382 
			 Southend-on-Sea 2,042,646 1,854,656 1,836,235 
			 Southwark 3,272,300 4,325,397 4,339,792 
			 St. Helens 1,926,082 1,965,606 1,915,161 
			 Staffordshire 6,390,550 7,246,490 7,098,550 
			 Stockport 2,616,029 3,020,274 3,290,741 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 1,706,531 1,842,971 2,073,428 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1,344,344 1,691,598 2,262,801 
			 Suffolk 5,009,128 5,410,202 5,558,662 
			 Sunderland 2,279,971 2,144,705 2,126,355 
			 Surrey 14,221,959 16,494,879 15,775,204 
			 Sutton 2,449,230 2,592,367 3,212,607 
			 Swindon 1,404,303 1,272,792 1,393,488 
			 Tameside 1,381,390 1,130,000 1,130,000 
			 Telford and Wrekin 1,520,597 1,705,759 1,778,343 
			 Thurrock 1,020,649 1,105,354 1,130,862 
			 Torbay 1,012,678 1,273,475 1,381,273 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,382,931 3,473,230 3,507,801 
			 Trafford 2,904,426 2,957,773 2,775,447 
			 Wakefield 2,923,656 3,107,984 2,709,257 
			 Walsall 2,321,770 2,272,683 2,454,698 
			 Waltham Forest 2,978,994 3,252,937 3,411,268 
			 Wandsworth 2,466,236 2,577,928 2,819,159 
			 Warrington 1,879,406 2,742,869 2,598,513 
			 Warwickshire 4,054,442 4,262,928 4,068,662 
			 West Berkshire 1,686,742 1,796,497 1,974,354 
			 West Sussex 12,075,930 13,335,293 13,422,074 
			 Westminster 2,459,900 3,008,500 3,030,700 
			 Wigan 2,910,872 3,094,565 3,132,493 
			 Wiltshire 4,475,454 4,724,697 4,541,478 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 1,340,662 1,496,198 1,328,490 
			 Wirral 3,852,600 3,878,400 3,923,400 
			 Wokingham 1,563,828 1,562,502 1,676,516 
			 Wolverhampton 2,534,000 3,017,600 2,907,700 
			 Worcestershire 4,916,196 5,533,438 5,879,560 
			 York 1,045,080 1,107,181 1,179,324 
			 (1) Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 15 February 2008. (2).Data are drawn from local authorities Section 52 Budget Statement (Table 1) submitted to the DCSF (formally DfES). (3 )SEN transport expenditure includes budgeted expenditure by local authorities in England on the cost of LA vehicles, public transport and contract hire for: travel between home and mainstream schools, early years settings and special schools where entitlement to assistance is agreed for reasons of SEN and/or disability additional travel arrangements made during the school day to facilitate inclusion additional travel arrangements made to support pupils with SEN and/ or disabilities to take part in extended school activities outside of normal school hours travel to provision, other than a school, where it is made to meet a special educational need the cost of those escorts provided to support travel for children with SEN and / or disabilities travel between home and mainstream schools and special schools for young people over the age of 16 where entitlement to assistance is agreed for reasons of SEN and/or disability any costs for home to college transport for special education needs pupils.  Note: 2007-08 data is subject to change by the local authority.

Geography: Educational Visits

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE geography students who had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2007;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level  (a) geography and  (b) biology students who had the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending (i) 2005 and (ii) 2007;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level  (a) geography and  (b) biology students who (i) did not and (ii) had the opportunity to conduct course-related field-work in the school year ending (A) 2006 and (B) 2007;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE science students who took a residential field trip in the school year ending  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2006; and what percentage he expects to do so in 2008;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level biology students who had the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2006;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level geography students who had the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2006;
	(7)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level biology students who had the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2005;
	(8)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level geography students who did not have the opportunity conduct course-related field-work in the school year ending 2006;
	(9)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level biology students who had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2005;
	(10)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level biology students who did not have the opportunity to conduct course-related field-work in the school year ending 2005;
	(11)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level geography students who had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2006;
	(12)  what percentage of GCSE science students had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2005;
	(13)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE science students who took a residential field trip in the school year ending 2005;
	(14)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE geography students who had the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2006;
	(15)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-level geography students who will have the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2008;
	(16)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level geography students who will have the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2008;
	(17)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level geography students who will not have the opportunity to conduct course related field-work in the school year ending 2008;
	(18)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of  (a) biology GCSE and  (b) geography students who will have the opportunity to participate in a course-related field trip in the school year ending 2008;
	(19)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level biology students who  (a) will and  (b) will not have the opportunity to participate in a course related field trip in the school year ending 2008;
	(20)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of A-Level biology students who will have the opportunity to participate in a half-day field trip in the school year ending 2008;
	(21)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of GCSE students who  (a) will have the opportunity to participate in a course related field trip in the school year ending 2008 and  (b) had the opportunity in the school year ending in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2006.

Jim Knight: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not collect this information broken down by subject and qualification. However, research carried out by the Scouts Association and the Duke of Edinburgh Award in 2005 found that 86 per cent. of primary schools and 99 per cent. of secondary schools offer pupils at least one residential education opportunity, outdoor education being by far the most popular type.
	Research into Education Outside the Classroom published by NFER in November 2006 also found that there has been little evidence of a decline in numbers of school trips in recent years.
	Fieldwork is and will remain a compulsory part of the geography curriculum in secondary schools, both at key stage 3 (ages 11 to 14) and in GCSE syllabuses. Fieldwork is not currently compulsory in A level geography courses but will be a specific requirement in the A level criteria from September 2008.
	The new key stage 3 science curriculum says that pupils should be offered the opportunity to experience science outside the school environment, including in the workplace, where possible.

Schools: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what spare capacity there is in schools maintained within Milton Keynes unitary authority area, broken down by  (a) year group and  (b) school.

Jim Knight: holding answer 20 February 2008
	The Department collects data on surplus school places broken down by school via an annual survey. The most recent data available relates to 2007. The Department does not collect data on surplus school places broken down by year group.
	The tables show the number of surplus places in primary and secondary schools in Milton Keynes as at 1 January 2007.
	
		
			  Primary schools 
			  School name  Surplus school places 
			 Abbeys Primary School 146 
			 Ashbrook School 0 
			 Bishop Parker Catholic School 3 
			 Bow Brickhill C/E Primary School 12 
			 Bradwell Village School 66 
			 Brooksward School 70 
			 Broughton Fields Primary School 169 
			 Bushfield School 65 
			 Caroline Haslett School 0 
			 Castlethorpe First School 6 
			 Cedars Combined School 94 
			 Chestnuts Primary School 76 
			 Christ the Sower Ecumenical Primary School (VA) 108 
			 Cold Harbour CE School 9 
			 Downs Barn First School 11 
			 Drayton Park School 60 
			 Eaton Mill Primary School 5 
			 Emberton School 11 
			 Emerson Valley School 60 
			 Falconhurst School 0 
			 Germander Park School 5 
			 Giffard Park Primary School 97 
			 Gilesbrook Primary School 3 
			 Glastonbury Thorn School 0 
			 Great Linford Primary School 77 
			 Green Park School 0 
			 Greenleys First School 1 
			 Greenleys Junior School 14 
			 Hanslope Primary School 52 
			 Haversham Village School 26 
			 Heelands School 21 
			 Heronsgate School 19 
			 Heronshaw School 0 
			 Holmwood school 40 
			 Holne Chase Primary School 20 
			 Howe Park School 13 
			 Kents Hill School 11 
			 Knowles Infant School 56 
			 Knowles Junior School 42 
			 Langland Community School 83 
			 Lavendon School 23 
			 Long Meadow School 2 
			 Loughton Manor First School 0 
			 Loughton School 0 
			 Meadfurlong School 17 
			 Merebrook Infant School 14 
			 Middleton Primary School 80 
			 MKC Water Hall Primary School 145 
			 Monkston Primary School 1 
			 Moorland Infant School 13 
			 New Bradwell School 116 
			 New Chapter Combined School 105 
			 Newton Blossomville CE School 5 
			 North Crawley CE School 23 
			 Oldbrook First School 21 
			 Olney Infant School 55 
			 Olney Middle School 6 
			 Orchard School 44 
			 Oxley Park Primary 145 
			 Penwith School 18 
			 Pepper Hill First School 34 
			 Portfields Combined School 129 
			 Priory Common School 13 
			 Queen Eleanor Primary School 65 
			 Rickley Junior School 91 
			 Rivers Infant School 12 
			 Russell Street School 14 
			 Shepherdswell School 38 
			 Sherington CE 19 
			 Simpson School 82 
			 Southwood School 77 
			 St. Andrew's CE Infant 24 
			 St. Bernadette's 259 
			 St. Mary and St. Giles CE Junior School 27 
			 St. Mary's Wavendon CE Primary 22 
			 St. Thomas Aquinas RC Primary School 0 
			 St. Mary Magdalene School 0 
			 St. Monica's Catholic Primary 0 
			 Stanton School 53 
			 Stoke Goldington First School 25 
			 Summerfield School 34 
			 The Willows School and Early Years Centre 11 
			 Tickford Park Primary 57 
			 Two Mile Ash School 0 
			 Wavendon Gate School 43 
			 Wellsmead Infant School 78 
			 Wellsmead Junior School 60 
			 Willen Primary School 0 
			 Wood End First School 0 
			 Wyvern School 42 
			 Total 3,693 
		
	
	
		
			  Secondary  schools 
			  School name  Surplus school places 
			 St. Paul's Catholic School 0 
			 Denbigh School 0 
			 Stantonbury Campus 0 
			 Lord Grey School 14 
			 Walton High 20 
			 Ousedale School 24 
			 Leon School and Sports College 78 
			 Shenley Brook End Secondary 128 
			 The Radcliffe school 241 
			 Sir Frank Markham Community 330 
			 Hazeley Secondary School 524 
			 Oakgrove School 615 
			 Total 1,974 
			  Source:  2007 Surplus Places Survey

Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether his Department plans to move any of its offices to Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has no imminent plans to move any of its offices to the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. However, we do regularly review our sites strategy and a large proportion of the staff employed by the Department and its agencies are already located outside of London and the South East.

Skilled Workers

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his policy is on re-skilling the existing workforce.

Bill Rammell: The Government are committed to improving the skills of the work force, and to delivering the world class skills ambition recommended by Lord Leitch in his independent review of our nation's skills. In 'World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England', published in July last year, the Government set out how it will work employers, trade unions and individuals to deliver its world class skills ambition. As World Class Skills makes clear, this will require a significant increase in the number of people already in the work force who improve their skills, re-skill and gain new qualifications each year. 70 per cent. of the 2020 work force is already beyond the age of compulsory education.
	Working in partnership with employers is vital to the delivery of the Government's skills ambitions. Through the measures set out in 'World Class Skills', the Government are giving employers the opportunity to exert real leverage and decision making over both the content and delivery of skills and employment programmes. The new UK Commission for Employment and Skills will strengthen the employer voice at the heart of the system. Reformed and re-licensed sector skills councils will be sharply focussed on raising employer investment, articulating the future skills needs of their sector and ensuring that the supply of skills and qualifications is driven by employers.
	The Skills Pledge offers employers the opportunity to publicly demonstrate their commitment to investing in the skills of their employees and over 850 employers, covering over 2.3 million employees have already done this. To help employers of all sizes and in all sectors to identify and address their skills needs, the Government are expanding and improving the Train to Gain service, and expect to increase their investment through Train to Gain to over 1 billion by 2010-11.

Student Wastage

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time students under 22 years old withdrew from their higher education course in each year since 2001;
	(2)  how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time mature students withdrew from and did not complete their higher education course in each year since 2001.

Bill Rammell: The information available on non-continuation of higher education students is shown in tables 1 and 2. The figures are taken from the Performance Indicators in Higher Education, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
	Table 1 shows the proportion of UK-domiciled full-time first degree entrants to higher education institutions in England, who do not continue in higher education after their first year table 2 shows the proportion of UK-domiciled full-time other undergraduate entrants to higher education institutions in England, who do not continue in higher education after their first year. Both tables 1 and 2 are broken down by young (under 21) and mature (21 and over) students.
	
		
			  Table 1: Percentage of UK-domiciled full-time first degree entrants to English higher education institutions not continuing in higher education after their first year 
			  Academic year  Young (under 21)  Mature (21 and over) 
			 2001/02 7.0 14.8 
			 2002/03 7.3 15.1 
			 2003/04 7.2 15.4 
			 2004/05 6.8 14.0 
			  Source:  Performance Indicators in Higher Education, published by HESA 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Percentage of UK-domiciled full-time other undergraduate entrants to English higher education institutions not continuing in higher education after their first year 
			  Academic year  Young (under 21)  Mature (21 and over) 
			 2001/02 16.3 15.8 
			 2002/03 16.1 14.5 
			 2003/04 77.5 14.3 
			 2004/05 16.6 14.8 
			  Source: Performance Indicators in Higher Education, published by HESA 
		
	
	Figures for 2005/06 will become available later this year. HESA do not publish figures on the percentage of part-time students not continuing in higher education after their first year.
	According to the figures published by the OECD, the overall completion rate for type A (first degree equivalent) courses in UK universities and colleges of higher education is among the highest in the OECD countries.

Training: British Nationality

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether eligibility for the new training places announced on 16 November are restricted to British citizens.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Statement of Priorities 2008-11 and the joint Grant Letter to the LSC from my Department and the Department for Children, Schools and Families published on 16 November set out the Government's funding strategy for learning and skills over the comprehensive spending review period (2008-09 to 2010-11).
	The funding strategy reaffirms the Government's commitment to up-skilling British people to provide them with the skills required in a more competitive labour market, to get them off benefits and into jobs and to help them to advance from low skilled to higher skilled jobs. We will continue to help those who need to improve their skillsthe overwhelming majority of whom, but not all are British.
	The eligibility rules apply to any learner wanting to access the LSC funded learning places the Government announced on 16 November. For example, British citizens who have been ordinarily resident in the UK for the three years prior to the start of their course will be eligible for funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). In addition, a national of any European country (or the spouse, civil partner or child of an EU national) who has been ordinarily resident in the European economic area (EEA) for the three years prior to the start of their course, will also be eligible for LSC funding.
	Other categories of learners including EEA migrant workers, nationals of non-EU countries, refugees and asylum seekers may also be eligible for LSC funding. The full set of eligibility criteria for access to LSC funded provision is set out in full in the LSC Learner Eligibility Guidance 2007/08. This can be found at www.lsc.gov.uk

Young People: Unemployment

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the unemployment rate of 18 to 24 year olds who  (a) have no post-16 qualifications,  (b) have A-Levels,  (c) have a higher educational qualification and  (d) have a further educational qualification (i) is and (ii) was in each year since 1995.

Bill Rammell: The exact information requested could not be derived as a time series. Instead, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) was used to produce a time series with a slightly different qualification categories to those requested. The following table shows the estimates of unemployment rates by qualification held for adults aged 18-24 in England, using the LFS spring quarter (March to May) results between 1995 and 2005 and Quarter 2 results (April to June) for 2006 and 2007. The fact that there was a change in the reporting period of the LFS results means that the figures for 2006 and 2007 and not strictly comparable with those for earlier years as these estimates are subject to seasonality. However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) does publish on its website a seasonally adjusted time series of the unemployment rate for 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK. This shows for example, that the rate fell from 13.1 per cent. in spring 1997 to 12.0 per cent. in the last quarter of 2007.
	Our preferred measure of graduate unemployment is provided by the annual Destination of Leavers from HE survey (DLHE) which is available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
	
		
			  Unemployment rate( 1)  for 18 to 24-year-olds by educational attainment, England 
			  Percentage 
			   1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 6)  2007( 6)  Average 1995-2007 
			 Higher education qualifications(2) (3)9.9 10.2 6.0 6.6 4.6 4.9 4.6 5.9 5.1 3.6 6.5 8.1 6.7 6.4 
			 One or more A-levels(4) 13.4 9.5 9.5 8.5 7.8 8.6 6.9 6.2 9.0 7.3 7.5 11.9 9.6 8.9 
			 A-level equivalents including apprenticeships(5) 9.9 8.4 7.6 6.8 7.0 5.0 5.2 6.2 6.0 4.2 4.2 7.1 7.5 6.5 
			 One or more GCSE A*-C or equiv/other 14.2 14.0 12.8 12.2 11.7 11.4 10.7 11.1 11.8 12.2 12.3 14.4 16.3 12.7 
			 No qualifications 34.2 33.3 33.3 29.9 31.2 27.6 24.8 22.6 26.2 25.2 26.6 27.9 27.7 28.5 
			 All 14.5 13.7 12.0 11.1 10.3 9.7 8.9 9.2 9.8 9.1 9.9 12.5 12.4 11.0 
			 (1) The unemployment rate is defined as the unemployed (those actively seeking work in the last four weeks and available to start within two weeks) expressed as a percentage of the economically active (the unemployed plus the employed). (2) The 18-24 age range is not very suitable for measuring unemployment of graduates, since most of them are in full-time study for around half this period. (3) The confidence intervals due to sample error for cells in the table do vary, but are at least plus or minus 1.0 per cent. (4) The A levels category includes all 'A' levels attained at all institutions (including further education institutions). (5 )Further Education qualifications can be attained at a variety of levels. In this analysis the A level equivalents category largely consists of vocational level 3 qualifications, but will also include some with AS-levels and also apprenticeships which may be at level 2. Vocational level 3 qualifications are often but not always obtained at FE colleges. (6) These figures are for Q2 (April to June); figures for earlier years are spring (March to May).

Parachuting: Injuries

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many parachute-related  (a) injuries and  (b) deaths there were in each of the last 10 years in (i) the Army, (ii) the Royal Navy and (iii) the Royal Air Force.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD introduced the Central Health and Safety project (CHASP) database in 1997 to collect health and safety incident data in the Department, mostly on duty or on MOD property. Although 65 parachute-related incidents have been recorded for the 10-year period 1997 to 2006 (data for 2007 is not currently available), difficulties with CHASP data collection suggest these are likely to represent an undercount of the true figure and details are unreliable. I am therefore unable to provide a detailed breakdown of these figures, and the instance of parachute related injuries over the last decade.
	Details on annual parachute-related deaths in the UK regular armed forces for each year during the 10-year period 1997-2006, are listed in the following table.
	
		
			  Table 1: Parachute related deaths in the UK regular armed forces, by service (number), 1997 to 2006 
			   All  Naval service( 1)  Army  RAF 
			 All 10 1 6 3 
			 1997 0 0 0 0 
			 1998 0 0 0 0 
			 1999 0 0 0 0 
			 2000 2 0 2 0 
			 2001 1 1 0 0 
			 2002 2 0 2 0 
			 2003 2 0 1 1 
			 2004 1 0 0 1 
			 2005 2 0 1 1 
			 2006 0 0 0 0 
			 (1 )Royal Navy and Royal Marines

Trade Unions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings he has had with trade unions officials since 1 July 2007; on what dates; and with which trade unions.

Derek Twigg: Ministers meet many people as part of the process of policy development. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Housing: Low Incomes

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the total capital receipts under the right to buy; what the effect of these in public sector borrowing has been; when the revenue received was spent; and what plans she has for the treatment of further revenues. [Official Report, 19 March 2008, Vol. 473, c. 7MC.]

Iain Wright: The following table answers my hon. Friend's question for the years since 1995-96. Information before that year is available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   million 
			   Housing capital investment supported by CLG  Right to Buy (RTB) Receipts  Set Aside/Pooling  Investment greater than set-aside/pooling 
			 1995-1996 (1) (1) 860 (1) 
			 1996-1997 (1) (1) 637 (1) 
			 1997-1998 1,894 890 943 951 
			 1998-1999 2,098 911 1,085 1,013 
			 1999-2000 2,173 1,374 1,477 696 
			 2000-2001 2,866 1,426 1,626 1,240 
			 2001-2002 3,312 1,566 1,382 1,930 
			 2002-2003 3,598 2,210 1,626 1,972 
			 2003-2004 4,685 2,936 No data n/a 
			 2004-2005 4,767 2,575 1,694 3,073 
			 2005-2006 5,106 1,544 1,067 4,039 
			 2006-2007 5,194 1,145 843 4,351 
			 2007-2008 (2)5,597 No data (3)770 No data 
			 (1) Information available at only disproportionate cost  (2) Programmed expenditure  (3) Estimated pooled housing capital receipts 
		
	
	The table shows the total capital receipts from RTB sales of local authority dwellings in England. The figures are net of discount and are as reported by local authorities.
	The table also shows the value of capital receipts set-aside from 1997-98 to 2003-04 (the last year in which the set-aside regime existed). Under this regime, with-debt local authorities were required to set-aside a proportion of the capital receipt generated by the disposal of a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) asset, for the repayment of housing debt. When set-aside exceeds RTB receipts, it is because set-aside includes a proportion of receipts from not only RTB, but also whole-stock transfers, non-RTB dwelling sales, and sales of other HRA assets such as housing land.
	When capital receipts from the sale of a Government-owned asset are received, the sales reduce public sector net borrowing in manner such that the amount of sales is equal to the amount of the reduction. To the extent that a proportion of these receipts are retained and spent by the local authorities through pooling or set-aside, then that spending will offset the initial reduction.
	Under the set-aside regime, with-debt authorities were free to use the proportion of their housing receipts that had not been set aside for any capital purpose they saw fit. Debt-free authorities were free to use the whole of their housing receipts for any capital purpose. The Department does not record when authorities actually spent these receipts.
	From 1 April 2004 set-aside no longer applied to most housing receipts. All local authorities, both with-debt and debt-free, paid over or pooled the same amounts to the Secretary of State which would have formerly been set aside. Until the introduction of the pooling regime, set-aside was the mechanism that allowed a proportion of housing capital receipts to be redistributed for investment elsewhere.
	When an authority set aside an amount, the need for central government revenue support for that amount of borrowing through HRA subsidy disappeared, thereby enabling central to provide support for borrowing elsewhere.
	RTB sales reduce public sector net borrowing and since receipts are cash and therefore interchangeable with all other capital receipts, they are not hypothecated to any particular spending at any particular time. However, the table shows that the Government have consistently invested more in housing than they have received in receipts. In 2005-06, the amount paid to Government from all housing receipts is estimated to have been nearly 1.1 billion. The amount invested in housing was nearly 5.2 billion, i.e. almost five times the amount received in receipts.
	The process of pooling is currently being reviewed as part of the wider review of housing finance.

Quality of Life

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities make use of the Audit Commission's Quality of Life indicators.

John Healey: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to my hon. Friend directly.

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases are before the courts on challenges to the accuracy of the test for bovine tuberculosis.

Jonathan R Shaw: One farm business has issued legal proceedings against DEFRA, a date has yet to be set for the claim to be heard.
	Their claim for judicial review disputes the validity of the results of gamma interferon TB tests within their herds. The caimant is challenging DEFRA's decision not to re-test (using the tuberculin skin test) cattle within their herd that have had a positive reaction to the gamma interferon test. DEFRA has been put on notice that three other farm businesses are intending to issue proceedings on the same basis, but has agreed with those farmers that their animals will not be slaughtered pending the outcome of the judicial review. It is expected that this case will determine the issues in respect of all four complaints.

Cattle: Monitoring

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to introduce the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service cattle monitoring system in England.

Jonathan R Shaw: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the National Animal Health Surveillance System (NAHSS), introduced by the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. We have no plans to introduce such a system in England.
	On 22 October 2003, the 10-year UK Veterinary Surveillance Strategy was launched. It stresses the importance of working in partnership to provide early warning and rapid detection of disease threats facing the UK. In putting the strategy into practice, the aim is to ensure that surveillance activities are prioritised openly and that a clear, well-defined international evidence base exists for all surveillance reports and recommendations. A further aim is to make best use of the surveillance information that we collect.
	The strategy reflects an extensive consultation process across the UK, involving colleagues in Government and the veterinary, farming and wildlife sectors. It is an integral part of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy launched in June 2004.

Departmental Data Protection

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requirements his Department and its agencies place on contractors in relation to audit of personal data and IT equipment.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department's IT services are provided mainly by IBM under an outsourcing arrangement. This contract includes provisions for DEFRA and its audit agents to have audit and access rights, including contractor premises, systems and records as may be required for the purposes of verifying the integrity, confidentiality and security of the Department's data and/or personal data.
	There are also provisions which require IBM and its sub-contractors to comply with all applicable parts of the Data Protection Act, specifically the seventh data protection principle, which concerns the unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
	Other contracts awarded by DEFRA include standard terms and conditions which place obligations on contractors including requirements for access to audit and compliance with the Data Protection Act as stated above.

Departmental Information Officers

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) press and  (b) communications officers his Department employed in each year since establishment.

Jonathan R Shaw: The number of Press Officers in Core DEFRA is tabulated, with the census point for the number of Press Officers, taken as June for each year. The staffing numbers for the Press Office fluctuate during the course of any one year.
	The figures in the table exclude numbers for ancillary or support staff, but numbers have varied, ranging from 3 to 7 during the review period.
	
		
			  Staff numbers as at June  Press Officers 
			 2001 22 
			 2002 22 
			 2003 22 
			 2004 18 
			 2005 24 
			 2006 24 
			 2007 20 
		
	
	The DEFRA Press Office provides services for the Central Science Laboratory, Government Decontamination Service, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Pesticide Safety Directorate, Veterinary Laboratory Agency, and Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
	The number of staff employed in the Press Offices of each of the remaining DEFRA agencies of CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences) and the Rural Payments Agency, in each year since 2001 is tabulated, with the number of ancillary support staff in brackets (The RPA did not have any ancillary staff associated with the Press Office).
	
		
			  Agency  CEFAS  RPA 
			 2001 0.02 0.2 
			 2002 0.03 0.2 
			 2003 0.03 0.2 
			 2004 0.68 0.2 
			 2005 1.0 (0.16) 0.2 
			 2006 1.0 (0.24) 1.0 
			 2007 1.0 2.0 
		
	
	In addition to support from the DEFRA Press Office, Animal Health (formerly the State Veterinary Service) employs a Head of Communications and an External Communications Manager.
	The White Book of contacts in government departments and agencies contains listings for DEFRA and is updated twice yearly.

Livestock: Disease Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly government on developing common policies on reduction of bovine tuberculosis.

Jonathan R Shaw: Responsibility for bovine TB (bTB) is fully devolved and bTB policy in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly alone. However, both DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly government, along with the Scottish government, were signatories to the Government Strategic Framework for the Sustainable Control of bovine TB in GB. In the spirit of the framework officials in my Department are in regular contact with those in the Welsh Assembly government on the issue.

Dorneywood

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use civil servants in his Department have made of Dorneywood in the last 12 months.

Angela Eagle: I refer the Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron), 30 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1077W. Ministers and civil servants have used Dorneywood for official events over the past 12 months. Dorneywood is held in trust for use as an official residence, as has been the case under successive Administrations. It is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and is also available to Ministers and their civil servants for official engagements. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such engagements.

Food: Prices

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of recent increases in food prices on the stability of the economy.

Angela Eagle: Overall, CPI inflation has remained very close to its 2 per cent. target in recent months, despite the peak in food price inflation. The Government will publish its latest assessment of recent economic developments and prospects in the Financial Statement and Budget Report on 12 March, in the normal way.

Pay: Public Sector

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire of 21 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 1567-69W, on pay: public sector, when he expects data for 2007 to be available.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the average earnings index is publicly available from the Office of National Statistics at www.statistics.gov.uk. The average earnings index is found within the monthly release of the Labour Market Statistics. The most recent edition (January) of the Labour Market Statistics can be found at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk0108.pdf

Smuggling: Meat

James Paice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many seizures of illegal meat imported into the UK were made in each year since 2001, broken down by  (a) country of origin and  (b) product type; and what the total weight seized in each year was.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	During the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002, the number of seizures of illegal meat was 1,242 and Wgt (kg) was 18,955. Statistics by specific region are not available for that period.
	Seizures of illegal meat for 2002 to 2007 are listed by region in the following table.
	
		
			1 April to 31 March each year 
			2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Region ID  Region name  Number of seizures  Wgt (kg)  Number of seizures  Wgt (kg)  Number of seizures  Wgt (kg)  Number of seizures  Wgt (kg)  Number of times seized  Wgt (kg)  Vol (ltrs) 
			 1 Eastern Europe 343 1,998 838 4,479 1,487 5,355 2,734 11,261 3,125 11,040.98 9,920 
			 2 Eastern Africa 91 679 243 2,684 286 2,574 656 5,484 647 3,343.27 0 
			 3 North Africa 10 14,119 53 361 113 617 263 1,179 394 1,225.29 1,200 
			 4 Central Africa 14 148 61 550 78 573 97 511 130 730.54 2,000 
			 5 Southern Africa 542 1,536 1,004 2,235 1,181 2,699 1,541 2,352 1,625 2,359.40 1,550 
			 6 Western Africa 532 3,331 910 34,267 1,492 10,664 1,915 11,639 2,059 8,918.23 2,640 
			 7 North America 124 298 402 2,706 720 2,333 693 1,647 656 1,427.28 256 
			 8 Caribbean 237 826 279 1,617 451 2,171 567 2,320 722 2,215.70 0 
			 9 Central and South America 43 183 102 346 132 544 175 2,037 252 2,799.13 0 
			 10 Eastern Asia 549 5,182 1,486 9,664 2,807 23,662 3,471 41,618 5,795 18,735.59 2,380 
			 11 Southern Asia 132 501 319 1,709 633 3,002 757 4,208 1,205 7,746.80 1 
			 12 South East Asia 32 107 85 212 179 486 143 1,715 184 380.67 0 
			 13 Near and Middle East 235 1,421 760 10,364 1,133 14,484 1,527 18,401 2,100 9,579.50 400 
			 14 Oceania 31 503 127 326 131 411 124 453 80 17,698.86 0 
			 15 European 19 52 60 714 8 7,943 7 30 14 65.84 0 
			 16 Unknown 52 417 81 500 156 1,146 156 1,280 266 2,059.64 520 
			 Total  2,986 31,301 6,810 72,734 10,987 78,664 14,826 106,135 19,254 90,326.72 20,867 
		
	
	The following should be noted:
	(a) The aforementioned table shows by specific region the number, weight and volume of seizures of meat made from non-EU countries by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at British points of entry (and by staff funded by DEFRA until 11 April 2003), those made by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland (DARDNI) at points of entry in Northern Ireland and those made by inland local/port health authorities where they were able to establish that the illegal products came from non-EU countries. HMRC have been responsible for anti-smuggling controls on products of animal origin (POAO) into Britain since 11 April 2003.
	On occasions more than one POAO product at a time will be seized (for example, meat, fish, dairy and honey). This is referred to as a 'multiple seizure'. Up until 31 March 2006, this was only recorded as one seizure against the product of highest weight although the weight of the other products seized was included in the weight recorded for that product. However, the number of seizures by product for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 reflect the number of times each product was seized including those from a 'multiple seizure'.
	(b) Seizures of illegal meat imported into the United Kingdom (UK) are recorded by region rather than specific country. This is because in some cases it can be difficult to determine the precise country of origin for a particular product and people can often travel to the UK via another country (for example to catch a direct connecting flight to the UK). What is clear is that illegal imports of meat (and other products of animal origin) enter the UK from all over the world.
	(c) Seizure figures are not recorded at the level of detail to determine the type of product (for example, chicken, pork etc.).

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many women  (a) under 25,  (b) 25 to 35,  (c) 35 to 50,  (d) 50 to 60 and  (e) over 60 years of age had a CIN 3 graded smear test in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many women under the age of 25 years had a smear test with a CIN 3 result in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: Data for CIN3 is aggregated by age and with data for adenocarcinoma, we are not able to spilt them up. The following tables give figures, for the last five years, for women, whose cervical test outcome was CIN 3 and adenocarcinoma.
	
		
			  Women (all ages) where outcome was CIN3 and adenocarcinoma in situ following referral after persistent non-negative sample (low grade i.e.  category 1/8/3 result) for 2001-02 to 2005-06 and April to June 2006 
			  England  Number 
			 2001-02 2,498 
			 2002-03 3,872 
			 2003-04 3,609 
			 2004-05 3,945 
			 2005-06 4,151 
			 April to June 2006 866 
		
	
	
		
			  Women (all ages) where outcome was CIN3 and adenocarcinoma in situ following referral after single occurrence of potentially significant abnormality (high grade  i.e.  category 7/4/5/6 result) for 2001-02 to 2005-06 and April to June 2006 
			  England  Number 
			 2001-02 13,527 
			 2002-03 20,787 
			 2003-04 19,709 
			 2004-05 19,764 
			 2005-06 19,990 
			 April to June 2006 4,530 
			  Notes: 1. Data for outcome of referrals is a retrospective collection and annual data for this dataset is always a year behind the rest of the published data for cervical screening, however the first quarter for the following year is available and published at the same time, this has been provided for the period April to June 2006 to show the most up to date information available. 2. Figures for 2005-06 and April to June 2006 differ slightly from those published. Arrowe Park Hospital's laboratory data was submitted with the quarter and the annual data the wrong way round. 3. The latest data on cervical screening is available in the Information Centre's publication Cervical Screening Programme, England 2006-07.  4. Low grade includes the results; inadequate (cat 1), borderline (cat 8) and mild dyskaryosis (cat 3) High grade includes the results; moderate dyskaryosis (cat 7), severe dyskariosis (cat 4), severe dyskariosis/?invasive carcinoma (cat 5) and ?glandular neoplasia (cat 6) 5. CIN (cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia) is an indicator of the depth of abnormal cells within the cervix CIN3 is where the full thickness of the surface layer is affected (also known as carcinoma in situ)  Source: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care Form KC61 part C1 and C2

Debt Collection: Standards

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who in HM Courts Service is responsible for ensuring compliance with the national standards for enforcement agents by  (a) county court bailiffs,  (b) authorised High Court enforcement officers and their bailiffs and  (c) enforcement companies and their employees contracted for magistrates enforcement; what compliance checks were undertaken in 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: County court bailiffs are subject to civil service recruitment and the civil service code governs their behaviour. They are subject to strict controls over their conduct, exceeding the national standards, and discipline under civil service disciplinary procedures.
	Oversight of the conduct of authorised High Court enforcement officers (HCEOs) is delegated by the Lord Chancellor to the senior master of the Queens bench division of the High Court.
	The principles and concepts contained within the national standards for enforcement agents are encapsulated in the contracts that HMCS holds with those firms employed by them to enforce warrants issued by the magistrates courts. Management of these contracts is the responsibility of regional contract managers employed by HMCS.
	During 2007 the regional contract managers received monthly performance reports and held regular meetings to discuss issues, complaints and the provision of services generally. Centrally a review of both performance and compliance with the terms of the contract is undertaken bi-annually. In addition these companies were audited against their ability to meet contract protocols during 2007. As a result no contract breaches were identified.

Departmental Consultants

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consultancy contracts his Department issued in each year since 2005; what the  (a) value,  (b) purpose and  (c) contractor was in each case; and whether the consultant's report is publicly available in each case.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice was established on 9 May 2007. For the years from 2005-06 to 2006-07, where information is available for contracts awarded by the former Department for Constitutional Affairs, and those bodies that were formerly part of the Home Office and which are now part of the Ministry of Justice is available in the Library of the House.
	Information on contracts awarded in the first half of the current financial year across the Ministry of Justice is also provided.
	The information on contracts awarded by the National Offender Management Service in 2005-06 and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform in the years 2005-07 is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Full information on contracts awarded by HM Prison Service in 2006-07 is not available.
	Engaging consultancy support offers the Ministry of Justice a fast and flexible way of obtaining skills and experience that are not available in house. Additionally, it is an efficient and cost effective way of meeting ad hoc requirements and provides better value for money than expanding our permanent workforce.

Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) males and  (b) females have been (i) arrested, (ii) prosecuted and (iii) convicted for using their mobile telephones while driving since the legislation banning their use while driving was introduced, broken down by (A) age group and (B) police area.

Maria Eagle: Information requested on arrests for the offence of 'use of a hand held mobile phone while driving' is not collected centrally.
	Available information on prosecutions and convictions in the period from 1 December 2003 to end 2005 (latest available) are provided in the following tables. 2006 data will be available later this year.
	The majority of use of hand held mobile phone while driving offences are dealt with under the fixed penalty notices scheme. The fixed penalty notice is intended to be a quick and simple system in giving an offender the opportunity to resolve the matter without attending court. However, failing to pay the amount due within the specified time will result in the non-endorsable 30 fine becoming 45 and being registered as a fine at a local magistrates court. The tables do not include fixed penalty notices but do include cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
	
		
			  Table A: Proceedings at magistrates courts and findings of guilt at all courts for the offence of use of hand held mobile phone while driving( 1, 2)  males, by age group and police force area, England and Wales, 2003-05( 3) 
			  Number of offences 
			   Under 18  18 and under 21  21 and under 25  25( 4) 
			  Police force area  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt 
			 Avon and Somerset   3 2 7 7 2 2 
			 Bedfordshire 1 1 1 1 
			 Cambridgeshire   1 1   18 18 
			 Cheshire   1 1 2 2   
			 Cleveland   1 1 
			 Cumbria   5 4 11 10 3 3 
			 Derbyshire   1  1 1 51 48 
			 Devon and Cornwall   2 2 5 4 4 4 
			 Dorset 
			 Durham 
			 Essex   5 5 6 5 7 6 
			 Gloucestershire   5 5 
			 Greater Manchester 2 2 4 3 15 14 90 77 
			 Hampshire 1 1 1 1 9 8 1 1 
			 Hertfordshire 1 1 66 60 
			 Humberside   5 4 3 3 1 1 
			 Kent 
			 Lancashire 1 1 7 6 7 7 1 1 
			 Leicestershire   5 5 8 7 4 4 
			 Lincolnshire 3 3 3 2 
			 London, City of   2 1 1 1   
			 Merseyside 2 2 7 6 10 8 3 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 2 2 33 26 99 84 119 101 
			 Norfolk   3 3 14 10 1 1 
			 Northamptonshire 
			 Northumbria   4 4 5 5   
			 North Yorkshire   4 4 5 5 2 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 1 6 6 5 4 2 2 
			 South Yorkshire   1 1 8 8 6 6 
			 Staffordshire   1 1 4 3 1 1 
			 Suffolk 1 1 2 2 
			 Surrey 1  5 3 6 6 8 6 
			 Sussex   1 1 
			 Thames Valley   4 3 12 9 6 5 
			 Warwickshire 2 1   2 2   
			 West Mercia   1 1 1 1 67 58 
			 West Midlands   5 4 6 6 132 108 
			 West Yorkshire   3 2 8 6 16 13 
			 Wiltshire 1 1   3 3 5 3 
			 Dyfed Powys   2 2 1 1 2 2 
			 Gwent   2 2 
			 North Wales   1 1   2 2 
			 South Wales 1 1 3 3 6 4 1 1 
			 England and Wales 15 13 128 108 275 239 633 549 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   26 and under 30  30 and under 35  35 and under 40 
			  Police force area  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt 
			 Avon and Somerset 7 5 12 11 9 9 
			 Bedfordshire 4 4 4 4 3 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 4 3 
			 Cheshire   4 4 6 6 
			 Cleveland 1 1 1 1 2 2 
			 Cumbria 9 9 7 6 8 8 
			 Derbyshire 1 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 2 7 6 5 5 
			 Dorset 1 1 1 1   
			 Durham 1 1 
			 Essex 11 11 18 14 12 10 
			 Gloucestershire   
			 Greater Manchester 25 21 26 25 24 21 
			 Hampshire 5 5 6 5 7 5 
			 Hertfordshire 1 1 
			 Humberside 3 2 4 4 8 7 
			 Kent   
			 Lancashire 9 8 13 13 11 11 
			 Leicestershire 2 2 6 4 3 3 
			 Lincolnshire 1 1 3 2 6 5 
			 London, City of 3 3 3 3 6 4 
			 Merseyside 9 8 5 5 4 4 
			 Metropolitan Police 98 81 192 123 104 84 
			 Norfolk 5 4 4 3 4 3 
			 Northamptonshire   
			 Northumbria 4 4 10 9 10 9 
			 North Yorkshire 7 5 6 6 9 7 
			 Nottinghamshire 4 3 4 3 4 4 
			 South Yorkshire 2 2 3 3 5 5 
			 Staffordshire 7 7 8 8 2 2 
			 Suffolk 4 3 2 2 10 8 
			 Surrey 11 10 16 16 10 9 
			 Sussex   
			 Thames Valley 14 13 32 29 27 25 
			 Warwickshire 2 1 5 5 2 2 
			 West Mercia   
			 West Midlands 4 3 6 5 2 2 
			 West Yorkshire 11 9 5 4 4 3 
			 Wiltshire 7 6 11 9 3 3 
			 Dyfed Powys 2 2 4 3 4 4 
			 Gwent   1 1   
			 North Wales 3 2 1 1 5 4 
			 South Wales 7 6 7 5 3 2 
			 England and Wales 286 246 437 343 327 283 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   40 and under 50  50 and under 60  60 and over 
			  Police force area  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt 
			 Avon and Somerset 11 9 7 6 2 1 
			 Bedfordshire 7 5 1 1   
			 Cambridgeshire   1 1   
			 Cheshire 1  1 1 1  
			 Cleveland 2 2 2 1   
			 Cumbria 10 10 3 2 2 1 
			 Derbyshire   
			 Devon and Cornwall 8 7 3 3 2 2 
			 Dorset   
			 Durham   1 1   
			 Essex 14 12 5 4 2 1 
			 Gloucestershire   
			 Greater Manchester 21 20 7 6 2 2 
			 Hampshire 14 10 3 3 1  
			 Hertfordshire 1 1 
			 Humberside 2 2 
			 Kent   
			 Lancashire 10 10 3 2 1 1 
			 Leicestershire 4 4 6 4 1 1 
			 Lincolnshire 2 2 1 1 1  
			 London, City of 3 3 1 1 1  
			 Merseyside 5 4 3 3   
			 Metropolitan Police 104 80 32 26 6 4 
			 Norfolk 5 4 3 3   
			 Northamptonshire   
			 Northumbria 13 12 3 3 2 1 
			 North Yorkshire 8 7 8 8   
			 Nottinghamshire 3 3 1 1 3 3 
			 South Yorkshire 7 5 1  1 1 
			 Staffordshire 3 3 1 1   
			 Suffolk 7 3 4 3   
			 Surrey 18 17 6 5 2 2 
			 Sussex 1 1 
			 Thames Valley 26 22 13 12 6 5 
			 Warwickshire 5 4 3 2 1 1 
			 West Mercia   1
			 West Midlands 4 3 
			 West Yorkshire 8 8 
			 Wiltshire 10 9 5 5 1  
			 Dyfed Powys 5 4 3 3   
			 Gwent 1  
			 North Wales 3 2 2 2   
			 South Wales 7 7 3 1   
			 England and Wales 352 295 137 115 39 26 
			 '' = Nil. (1) Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction  Use) Regulations 1986, Regulations 110 (1), 110 (2) and 110 (3). Introduced 1 December 2003. (2) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (3) In December 2003, and for the Bedfordshire police force area, there was one prosecution and the male offender was found guilty. (4)Age 25 separate as used as a default age when date of birth is not known.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Proceedings at magistrates courts and findings of guilt at all courts for the offence of use of hand held mobil e phone  while driving( 1, 2)  females, by age group and by police force area, England and Wales 2003-05 
			  Number of offences 
			   Under 18  18 and under 21  21 and under 25  25( 3) 
			  Police force area  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt 
			 Avon and Somerset 2 2   
			 Bedfordshire   1  
			 Cambridgeshire 
			 Cheshire 
			 Cleveland 1 1   
			 Cumbria   1 1 1
			 Derbyshire   15 15 
			 Devon and Cornwall   2 2 1 1   
			 Dorset 
			 Durham 1 1   
			 Essex   1 1   1 1 
			 Gloucestershire 
			 Greater Manchester   6 5 
			 Hampshire   1 1 
			 Hertfordshire   7 7 
			 Humberside   1 1 
			 Kent 
			 Lancashire   1 1 
			 Leicestershire 
			 Lincolnshire 1
			 London, City of   1 1 
			 Merseyside 
			 Metropolitan Police   3 2 11 9 16 15 
			 Norfolk 1 1   
			 Northamptonshire 
			 Northumbria 
			 North Yorkshire 
			 Nottinghamshire 
			 South Yorkshire 1 1   
			 Staffordshire 
			 Suffolk 
			 Surrey 4 3 4 4 
			 Sussex 
			 Thames Valley   1 1 1 1   
			 Warwickshire   1 1 
			 West Mercia   6 5 
			 West Midlands   1 1   10 8 
			 West Yorkshire 1 1 1  
			 Wiltshire   1 1   1  
			 Dyfed Powys   1 1 
			 Gwent 
			 North Wales 
			 South Wales 
			 England and Wales   13 12 26 21 71 63 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   26 and under 30  30 and under 35  35 and under 40 
			  Police force area  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt 
			 Avon and Somerset   1 1 1 1 
			 Bedfordshire 1 1   1 1 
			 Cambridgeshire   
			 Cheshire   
			 Cleveland 1 1 
			 Cumbria 4 4 
			 Derbyshire   
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 2 1 1 1 1 
			 Dorset 1 1 
			 Durham   1 1   
			 Essex 1 1 4 4   
			 Gloucestershire   
			 Greater Manchester   2 2 2 2 
			 Hampshire 2 2 2 2 3 3 
			 Hertfordshire   
			 Humberside   
			 Kent   
			 Lancashire 1 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 1 
			 Lincolnshire   2
			 London, City of   
			 Merseyside 1 1 
			 Metropolitan Police 12 10 9 7 10 5 
			 Norfolk   
			 Northamptonshire   
			 Northumbria 2 1 
			 North Yorkshire 1 1 3 3   
			 Nottinghamshire 1 1 
			 South Yorkshire 1  
			 Staffordshire   2 2   
			 Suffolk   
			 Surrey 1 1 4 3 1 1 
			 Sussex   
			 Thames Valley 2 2 3 3 1 1 
			 Warwickshire   1 1   
			 West Mercia   
			 West Midlands   
			 West Yorkshire 1 1 
			 Wiltshire   
			 Dyfed Powys 2 1 2 2   
			 Gwent   
			 North Wales 2 1   1 1 
			 South Wales   2 1   
			 England and Wales 31 26 39 33 30 24 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   40 and under 50  50 and under 60  60 and over 
			  Police force area  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt  Proceedings  Findings of guilt 
			 Avon and Somerset 2 2 
			 Bedfordshire   
			 Cambridgeshire   
			 Cheshire   1 1   
			 Cleveland   
			 Cumbria   1 1   
			 Derbyshire   
			 Devon and Cornwall   1
			 Dorset   
			 Durham   
			 Essex 2 2 2
			 Gloucestershire   
			 Greater Manchester 1 1 
			 Hampshire 1 1 1 1   
			 Hertfordshire   
			 Humberside 2 2 
			 Kent   
			 Lancashire   
			 Leicestershire   
			 Lincolnshire 1 1 
			 London, City of   
			 Merseyside   
			 Metropolitan Police 12 11 
			 Norfolk 1  
			 Northamptonshire   
			 Northumbria   1 1   
			 North Yorkshire   
			 Nottinghamshire   
			 South Yorkshire 1 1 
			 Staffordshire 1 1 
			 Suffolk   
			 Surrey 2 2 1 1   
			 Sussex 1 1 
			 Thames Valley 2 2 
			 Warwickshire   
			 West Mercia   
			 West Midlands   
			 West Yorkshire   
			 Wiltshire 1 1 1
			 Dyfed Powys 1 1 
			 Gwent   
			 North Wales   
			 South Wales 1 1 
			 England and Wales 29 27 9 5 3 3 
			  
			 '' = Nil. (1) Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction  Use) Regulations 1986, Regulations 110(1), 110(2) and 110(3). Introduced 1 December 2003. (2) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (3) Age 25 separate as used as a default age when date of birth is not known.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Prisoners: Dyslexia

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the results of the Government's investigation into early intervention programmes on prisoners suffering from dyslexia, as referred to by the former Prime Minister,  Official Report, 23 May 2007, column 1270, on dyslexia and criminality, will be published; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The identification of prisoners with dyslexia and the provision of additional support is an important theme in the Learning and Skills Council's recent publication, Developing the Offender Learning and Skills Service: The Prospectus. The LSC publication incorporates the findings of the Prison Reform Trust research on learning disabilities, No-one Knows, published last year. Appropriate assessments and the provision of additional support is an important part of increasing prisoners' employability on release which in turn is a key factor in reducing re-offending.

Departmental Public Relations

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1040W, on departmental public relations, which public relations company was contracted for the  (a) digital switchover campaign and  (b) licensing campaign.

Margaret Hodge: The public relations company Harrison Cowley were used for the digital switchover campaign and the licensing campaign.

Film

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding is available for foreign film production companies to make films in the United Kingdom.

Margaret Hodge: The UK Government provide film tax relief for qualifying films. Foreign filmmakers working in partnership with British film companies may be eligible for such relief. In order to qualify their films need either to pass the UK's cultural test or qualify as an official UK co-production. Films should be intended for theatrical release, meet a minimum UK spend requirement of 25 per cent. and be made by a film production company within the UK corporation tax net.
	In addition, the UK Film Council provides national lottery funding for film development and production projects, approximately 19 million per year is available. Foreign filmmakers can access this funding by collaborating with companies that are registered and centrally managed in the UK or in another member state of the European Union or European economic area. The provision to allow companies registered in other states of the European Union or European economic area is to ensure compatibility with the general legality principles of the treaty on European Union (the Maastricht treaty).

National Lottery: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was paid in grants from Lottery funds to organisations in Tamworth in each of the last five years, expressed  (a) in cash terms and  (b) as a percentage of the Staffordshire total.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The total value of grants awarded in the local authority area of Tamworth in each of the last five complete financial years, and as a percentage of the Staffordshire total, is set out in the table.
	The information is location specific. That is the figures include only grants that are specific to a location in the region and exclude grants that might have gone to addresses in the region, but are not otherwise related to it.
	
		
			  Financial year  Total value of grants awarded in Tamworth ()  Staffordshire total ()  Tamworth total as a percentage of Staffordshire total 
			 2006-07 58,017 6,353,181 0.91 
			 2005-06 525,530 8,468,002 6.21 
			 2004-05 36,882 9,966,699 0.37 
			 2003-04 545,206 23,363,864 2.33 
			 2002-03 703,320 14,219,555 4.95 
		
	
	The Department's Lottery Grants Database is searchable at:
	www.lottery.culture.gov.uk
	and uses information supplied by the Lottery distributors.

Tourism: North East

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the average spend per head per day of domestic tourists visiting the North East in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The table shows the average expenditure per trip and per night for domestic overnight trips to the North East region for the latest five years.
	
		
			  North East: average expenditure( 1)  of domestic overnight tourists ( 2) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Average spend per trip(3) 181 172 180 177 159 
			 Average spend per night(3) 65 62 66 61 57 
			 (1) Expenditure includes items such as package holidays, accommodation, travel to and from the destination and during the trip, services and advice, buying clothes, eating and drinking out, shopping, entertainment and other items relating to the trip. (2) The methodology for the UKTS changed in 2005 meaning that comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. This change occurred as a result of concerns with the quality of 2004 data, which is thought to be an under-representation of the true position. (3) Figures are rounded.  Source:  UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards) 
		
	
	Also, average expenditure during tourism day visits made to, or within, the North East was 25.40 in 2002-03 (source: Leisure Day Visits Survey). It is not possible to provide a time series for this information as the surveys are run intermittently and on a non-consistent basis, therefore this is our best estimate for this period.

ACTIS

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) investment positions and  (b) subsequent disposals have been made by Actis since 2004; and what the (i) original investment and (ii) sale proceeds were in each case.

Douglas Alexander: Actis manages funds not only for Government (through CDC) but also for other private equity investors. Details of Actis' investments and sale proceeds are commercially confidential. However, key targets within its 2004-08 business plan are on target to be met or exceeded. This has enabled substantial re-investment to be undertaken by CDC. Additional information on CDC's investments is included in their annual report and accounts.

Departmental Expenditure

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding from his Department has been channelled through UK-based, non-governmental organisations in each of the last five years through  (a) Programme Partnership Agreements,  (b) country budgets,  (c) humanitarian central budgets,  (d) other budget lines and  (e) in total; and how much funding in each category is to be made available in 2007-08.

Gareth Thomas: Total DFID expenditure channelled through UK Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in each of the last five years and planned expenditure for 2007-08 through the Civil Society Challenge Fund and Partnership Programme Agreements is set out in the following table. The table also includes planned funding in respect of the Development Awareness Fund and the Strategic Grant Agreement for 2007-08.
	DFID also provides ad hoc funding to agencies and CSOs working in country or at a regional level responding to specific emergencies. DFID's Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department (CHASE) estimate that in 2007-08 8 million was spent on humanitarian relief across a range of natural disasters, from an earthquake in Peru to cyclones and floods in Bangladesh, India, Mexico, North Korea and Pakistan, to winter shelter for extreme winter conditions in Kyrgyzstan. Of this, 5 million was provided through NGOs.
	There is no central allocation of funding through CSOs for humanitarian assistance projects or other parts of the DFID programme.
	Multilaterals also allocate funding to CSO's, among these are the European Commission, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Because multilaterals do not report the proportion of their expenditure allocated to CSOs, DFID is unable to attribute multilateral expenditure to CSOs.
	
		
			  DFID expenditure through UK CSO's for 2002-03 to 2006-07 and planned expenditure for 2007-08 
			  000 
			   Total  Civil Society Challenge Fund  Partnership Programme Agreement  Humanitarian Assistance  Country and other DFID programme 
			 2002-03(1) 222,845 13,056 57,227 93,822 58,739 
			 2003-04(1) 220,321 10,355 59,000 86,689 64,277 
			 2004-05(1) 232,930 10,106 65,263 91,187 66,374 
			 2005-06(1) 260,952 13,260 81,650 95,254 70,788 
			 2006-07(1) 274,309 13,539 89,141 85,423 86,207 
			 2007-08(2)  14,280 90,191  (3)4,200 
			 (1) Actual (2) Planned (3) Includes Development Awareness fund and the Strategic Grant Agreement only 
		
	
	Final expenditure figures for 2007-08 will not be available until after the end of the fiscal year.

Development Aid

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support inclusive and equitable development strategies that increase investment in pro-poor sectors.

Gillian Merron: The UK Government support developing country governments to ensure that increased investment and growth is included appropriately in their overall poverty reduction strategies (PRSs). This is a key component of the new public service agreement (PSA) 29 on poverty reduction. Our involvement and support will be both through our bilateral programme and through our influence on other development agencies.
	There are a range of sectors which can bring high benefits for the poor for example, agriculture. DFID's policy paper 'Growth and poverty reduction: the role of agriculture' sets out the various ways in which DFID is supporting inclusive and equitable development strategies. This is available at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Pubs/files/growth-poverty-agriculture.pdf.

Female Genital Mutilation

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent research has been commissioned by his Department on the subject of female genital mutilation; and what steps his Department has taken to  (a) raise international awareness of this issue and  (b) dispel culturally-entrenched myths surrounding the practice; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The UK Government provided 5.5 million to the United Nations (UN) Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproductive Health (HRP) between 2005 and 2008. HRP supports research in the area of Female Genital Mutilation.
	DFID strongly supports efforts to eliminate FGM and other harmful traditional practices as part of our sexual and reproductive health, maternal health and gender equality strategies. DFID has supported advocacy events globally and in Africa. For example funding events in 28 African countries and Geneva to mark International FGM Zero Tolerance Day on 6 February 2007; supporting an Africa Regional workshop on child protection and FGM in Kenya in 2006 and an African Parliamentarians Conference on FGM in 2005. DFID is a member of the Donor Working Group on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) that brings together key actors at the international level, and which held a panel at the Women Deliver Conference in October 2007.

Health

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what mechanisms to engage civil society in the international health partnership have been established.

Gillian Merron: The UK is committed to ensuring that civil society organisations (CSO) are involved in the International Health Partnership (IMP). CSOs are not only a critical partner in delivering health services in many developing countries, but they can also play an important role in holding partners to account at the global and country level.
	The UK has engaged with CSO partners both before and after the launch of the IMP. In October, DFID hosted a meeting in London with several CSOs. Since then the eight health agencies (H8) leading on the IHP have regularly consulted with CSOs and are currently developing a strategy for ongoing CSO engagement. A key meeting called by the H8 to review progress in developing country compacts will be held in Lusaka later this month, and several CSOs will be attending.

Natural Disasters

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources his Department has provided for disaster risk reduction strategies in countries prone to disasters.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's current financial management system does not record total resources spent on disaster risk reduction (DRR) centrally, because DRR programmes can be included under a range of types of assistance, from education (for example DRR education in schools) to infrastructure (for example earthquake proof building).
	However, DFID has a commitment to allocate approximately 10 per cent. of the funding it provides in response to each natural disaster to prepare for and mitigate the impact of future disasters, where this can be done effectively. Under this commitment, DFID has pledged 7.5 million following the Indian Ocean Tsunami; 5.5 million following the Pakistan earthquake and 500,000 following the Yogyakarta (Indonesia) earthquake. Other examples of support for DRR at country level include: 50 million for the Chars (river islands) Livelihoods Project in Bangladesh which aims to increase livelihood security for 6.5 million vulnerable people in flood-prone districts; 3.8 million to an insurance fund to provide Caribbean Governments with fast payouts after natural disasters; and 2.9 million for a consortium of NGOs in Niger to help communities prevent food security crises.
	DFID also provides funds for multilateral and regional organisations working on DRR. We have provided: 3 million for the United Nations international strategy for disaster risk reduction; 4.38 million for the World Bank's global facility for disaster risk reduction; 2.5 million for the ProVention Consortium; 2.15 million for the International Federation of the Red Cross; 3.3 million for the Pan American Health Organisation for DRR programmes; as well as some resources through its 7 million annual contribution to the United Nations Development Programme's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR).

Child Support Agency: Private Sector

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the results of outsourcing of Child Support Agency work, with particular regard to  (a) response times and  (b) quality of work delivered.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 February 20008:
	In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the results of outsourcing of Child Support Agency work with particular regard to  (a) response times and  (b) quality of work delivered.
	As part of the Operational Improvement Plan, the Agency contracted out some of its enforcement work to private debt collection agencies, Eversheds LLP and iQor, and the management of our clerical case load to Vertex Data Science Ltd.
	Although the Agency has contracted out the maintenance of its clerical cases to Vertex Data Science Ltd, the performance targets set by the Secretary of State apply to all Child Support cases, regardless of whether they are clerical or not.
	In addition, the Agency's Client Service Standards apply to cases maintained by Vertex Data Science Ltd.
	Formal monthly governance arrangements are in place to measure and discuss Vertex performance against these targets and standards. Weekly meetings between Vertex and Agency operational managers also take place to track performance.
	The number of cases that need to be processed clerically is larger than was initially expected. Consequently, in order to ensure we maintain a good standard of service to our clients, we returned some of the cases being handled by Vertex to our other centres. This process began in July 2007 and was completed in September 2007.
	The Agency now retains responsibility for clerical cases until the first payment stage, including processing some cases previously passed to Vertex (CSA Bolton) which were awaiting initial assessment and payment scheduling. Thereafter, these cases will be sent to CSA Bolton to ensure on-going maintenance compliance.
	These changes have allowed Vertex to focus on case maintenance, keeping more money flowing to more children, and have resulted in an improvement in the service offered to clients.
	The forthcoming upgrade to the CS2 computer system will result in a significant reduction in the number of cases that need to be processed clerically. The process will be re-assessed at that point.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Employment and Support Allowance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of new claimants on the new employment and support allowance are expected to claim  (a) the employment portion and  (b) the support portion when the new allowance is introduced;
	(2)  when the Government plans to announce the level of the new employment and support allowance; and what preliminary work his Department has carried out on the level of that allowance.

Anne McGuire: We are projecting a total of 567,000 new claims for 2008-09 as a whole. From October 2008 new customers will claim Employment and Support Allowance. Prior to that date incapacity benefit and income support will be available. These benefits will also be available after October 2008 to those protected by the linking rules.
	The most severely disabled people claiming Employment and Support Allowance will be placed in the Support Group and will receive a higher rate of benefit. Early estimates are that around 10 per cent. of new customers to ESA will be in the Support Group. Over time as proportionately more people in the work-related activity group leave the benefit the proportion will rise to around 20 per cent of the longer term ESA caseload.
	We will be laying the main ESA regulations in the coming weeks and they will include the rates of the benefit. Analysis has been undertaken and an appropriate rate for ESA will be set in order to meet our aspirations for welfare reform.

Equality: Public Sector

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the each of the guidance notes produced on procurement and race, disability and gender public sector equality duties published respectively by the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Barbara Follett: I am placing copies of the following publications in the Library:
	The duty to promote race equality: Race Equality and Procurement in Local Government: A guide for (local) authorities and contractors (CRE)
	The duty to promote race equality: Public Procurement and Race Equality: Guidelines for local government (CRE)
	The duty to promote race equality: Race Equality and Public Procurement: A guide for public authorities and contractors (CRE)
	The duty to promote race equality: Public Procurement and Race Equality: Guidelines for public authorities (CRE)
	Public procurement and race equality: Briefing for suppliers (CBI and CRE)
	Procurement and the Disability Equality Duty: Implications of the Disability Equality Duty for Public Procurement and the Management of Public Sector Contracts (DRC)
	Guidance for Great Britain: Procurement: Gender equality duty (EOC)

Now Let's Talk Money

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on the Now Let's Talk Money programme.

Anne McGuire: HM Treasury allocated 5.4 million to the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver the 'now let's talk money' campaign.
	During 2006-07 and 2007-08 4.9 million will have been spent on a range of activities to increase awareness among excluded consumers of the availability of suitable financial services; awareness raised via intermediary organisations and direct marketing. This includes 0.5 million through a special projects fund, with a balance of 0.5 million spent on the same during 2008-09.